ANTIBODIES AGAINST VESICULAR ESTOMATITIS VIRUS IN WHITE-LIPPED PECCARIES (TAYASSU PECARI) IN MADRE DE DIOS, PERU

El objetivo del presente estudio fue determinar la presencia de anticuerpos neutralizantes contra los serotipos New Jersey (NJ) e Indiana subtipo 1 (IND-1) del virus Estomatitis Vesicular (VEV) en huanganas (Tayassu pecari) de vida libre de las localidades de Boca de Manu (n=30), Concesión para la Conservación Los Amigos (n=10) y La Reserva Nacional Tambopata/Parque Nacional Bahuaja Sonene (n=48) en el departamento de Madre de Dios. La presencia de anticuerpos contra el VEV fue determinado mediante la prueba de neutralización viral en las 88 muestras de suero de huanganas machos y hembras adultos de apariencia normal. El 53.4% (47/88) y 18.2% (16/88) de las muestras fue positiva a anticuerpos contra los serotipos IND-1 y NJ, respectivamente, en tanto que el 29.5 y el 2.3% de las muestras tuvieron anticuerpos neutralizantes igual o mayor a 1:32 contra los serotipos IND-1 y NJ, respectivamente. No hubo asociación significativa entre las variables presencia de anticuerpos contra el VEV y lugar de procedencia de las muestras.The aim of the study was to determine the presence of antibodies against New Jersey (NJ) and Indiana subtype 1 (IND-1) Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV) in free-living white-lipped peccaries (Tayassu pecari) in three localities of Madre de Dios, Peru. The presence of antibodies against VSV by virus neutralization test was determined in 88 serum samples of adult male and females in apparent good health condition. Results showed that 53.4% (47/88) and 18.2% (16/88) of samples were positive to antibodies against serotypes IND-1 and NJ respectively, whereas 55.3 and 12.6% of the serum samples had neutralizing antibodies titers equal or greater than 1:32 against serotype IND-1 and NJ respectively. There was a no significant association between seropositivity of VSV and source of samples

In vitro gastrointestinal digestion of microencapsulated extracts of Flourensia cernua, F. microphylla, and F. retinophylla

Recently, some species of the genus Flourensia have been identified by their potential health effects (e.g. anti-inflammatory and apoptotic). Encapsulation of plant extracts is a process that can allow an adequate dosage administration, as well as to protect bioactive compounds and improve their controlled release in the gastrointestinal (GI) system. Therefore, the aims of this work were: to microencapsulate the ethanol extracts of F. cernua, F. microphylla, and F. retinophylla; and to evaluate the controlled release of the microencapsuled extracts in an in vitro GI system. Leaves of Flourensia spp. were collected in wild sites of Coahuila State, and the ethanol extracts were obtained by the Soxhlet method. The encapsulation was performed by the gelation technique, using alginate. The microcapsules formed were characterized in terms of total phenol content (Folin-Ciocalteu method), antioxidant activity by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic) diammonium acid (ABTS), and the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thermal analysis, and in vitro GI digestion. The microcapsules were found to have spherical-shape and a micro-scale dimension in the range of 2.168.8??m. Also, the built of microcapsules was confirmed by the appearance of an exothermic peak centered at 600?°C in the DSC analysis. F. microphylla noted for its strong antioxidant activity, even in its encapsulated form. In the gastric system the extracts of fresh microcapsules were released from 7.7% to 14.5%, while values of 26.5% to 53.3% were observed for those dried. For the intestinal system, the higher release was observed for dried microcapsules (59.9% to 78.4%) than for those fresh (26.3% to 30.2%). Thus, it was demonstrated that the alginate microcapsule protected the extracts until they were delivered to the target site in the GI model, and this effect was better with the dried microcapsules of Flourensia spp. This study would set the guide for the application of Flourensia spp. extracts in order to take advantage of their benefits to human health.Author G.N. Puente Romero thanks Mexican Science and Technology Council (CONACYT, Mexico) for MSc fellowship support. Authors would like to thank to María Guadalupe Moreno Esquivel, Edith E. Chaires Colunga, Olga L. Solís Hernández, and M. Leticia Rodríguez González of the Phytochemistry Laboratory from Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro, for their support in the lab experiments.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

ORBIVIRUS INFECTION IN WHITE-LIPPED PECCARIES (TAYASSU PECARI) FROM MADRE DE DIOS REGION, PERU

El Perú posee el 13% de los bosques tropicales amazónicos con más de 460 especies de mamíferos, incluyendo el pecarí labiado o huangana (Tayassu pecari). Esta especie es de gran importancia ecológica y comercial, así como una importante fuente de proteína para la población amazónica; sin embargo, las informaciones sobre su estado sanitario son escasas. El objetivo del estudio fue determinar anticuerpos contra el virus de lengua azul (VLA) y otros Orbivirus en huanganas de vida libre de apariencia normal de tres localidades del departamento de Madre de Dios. Se evaluaron 106 muestras de suero para determinar los anticuerpos contra el VLA mediante un kit de ELISA de competición y contra otros Orbivirus mediante la prueba de inmunodifusión en gel de agar. El 7.5% (8/106) presentaron anticuerpos específicos contra el VLA y el 29.2% (31/106) contra VLA/otro Orbivirus. Anticuerpos contra el VLA y VLA/otro Orbivirus se hallaron en las tres localidades.Peru has 13% of the Amazonian tropical forest which contains over 460 species of mammals, including the white lipped peccary or huangana (Tayassu peccari). This species is of great ecological and commercial importance and a major source of protein for the local inhabitants; however, information about the sanitary situation of this species is scarce. The aim of this study was to determine antibodies against bluetongue virus (BTV) and other Orbivirus in free-living and healthy white lipped peccaries from the Madre de Dios region, Peru. One hundred and six serum samples were evaluated to determine antibodies against BTV by competitive ELISA and other Orbivirus by immunodiffusion agar gel test. Results showed that 7.5% (8/106) of the samples had antibodies against BTV and 29.2% (31/106) against BTV/other Orbivirus. Antibodies against BTV and other Orbivirus were detected in all three localities

Multi-colour optical monitoring of eight red blazars

We present the observational results of multi-colour optical monitoring of eight red blazars from 2003 September to 2004 February. The aim of our monitoring is to investigate the spectral variability as well as the flux variations at short and long time scales. The observations were carried out using the 1.0 m robotic telescope of Mt. Lemmon Optical Astronomy Observatory, in Arizona, USA, the 0.6 m telescope of Sobaeksan Optical Astronomy Observatory and the 1.8 m telescope of Bohyunsan Optical Astronomy Observatory, in the Republic of Korea. During the observations, all sources show strong flux variations with amplitudes of larger than 0.5 mag. Variations with amplitudes of over 1 mag are found in four sources. Intraday variations with amplitudes larger than 0.15 mag, and a rapid brightness increase with a rate of ~0.2 mag per day in four days, are detected in S5 0716+71. We investigate the relationship between the colour index and source brightness for each source. We find that two out of three FSRQs tend to be redder when they are brighter, and, conversely, all BL Lac objects tend to be bluer. In particular, we find a significant anti-correlation between the V-I colour index and R magnitude for 3C 454.3. This implies that the spectrum became steeper when the source was brighter, which is opposite to the common trend for blazars. In contrast, significant positive correlations are found in 3C 66A, S5 0716+71, and BL Lac. However, there are only very weak correlations for PKS 0735+17 and OJ 287. We propose that the different relative contributions of the thermal versus non-thermal radiation to the optical emission may be responsible for the different trends of the colour index with brightness in FSRQs and BL Lac objects.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in A&

Impacto del sexo del donante y del receptor en los niveles de hemoglobina de los receptores de riñón al año de seguimiento

Introdución: El trasplante renal es la mejor terapia de reemplazo renal, el cual depende de múltiples factores para un funcionamiento como condiciones del donador, del receptor y sociodemográficas. Objetivo: Evaluar el efecto del sexo de los donadores y receptores durante el primer año después del trasplante en los valores de hemoglobina. Material y Método: Estudio de cohorte retrospectiva de receptores renales del 2014 al 2019, realizado en el Hospital de Especialidades del Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI (Ciudad de México). Se incluyeron a todos los trasplantados, excluyendo fallecidos, pérdida del injerto y pérdida de seguimiento en la institución. Se estudiaron sexo y edad del donante y receptor, tipo de donante renal (vivo o fallecido), hemoglobina antes del trasplante renal y la hemoglobina al año del trasplante, y creatinina sérica. Resultados: Se analizaron 914 pacientes, se excluyeron 109 por diversos motivos, quedando 805 pacientes que completaron los 12 meses de seguimiento. En el caso de donaciones de masculino a femenino, la mediana de hemoglobina del receptor a los 12 meses fue de 15,2 g/dL (Percentil 25-Percentil 75: 13,7-16,0 g/dL), de masculino a masculino de 15,2 g/dL (Percentil 25-Percentil 75: 13,4-16,6 g/dL), de femenino a femenino de 14,0 g/dL (Percentil 25-Percentil 75: 12,4-15,3 g/dL) y femenino de masculino de 13,5 g/dL (Percentil 25-Percentil 75: 12,5-14,8 g/dL). Conclusiones: Los niveles de hemoglogina no parecen estar influenciados por la masa nefronal, como sí otras funciones del injerto (depuración de creatinina). La regulación de la hemoglobina guarda relación con el sexo del receptor

Liver injury in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is associated with urea cycle enzyme dysregulation

The main aim was to evaluate changes in urea cycle enzymes in NAFLD patients and in two preclinical animal models mimicking this entity. Seventeen liver specimens from NAFLD patients were included for immunohistochemistry and gene expression analyses. Three-hundred-and-eighty-two biopsy-proven NAFLD patients were genotyped for rs1047891, a functional variant located in carbamoyl phosphate synthetase-1 (CPS1) gene. Two preclinical models were employed to analyse CPS1 by immunohistochemistry, a choline deficient high-fat diet model (CDA-HFD) and a high fat diet LDLr knockout model (LDLr −/−). A significant downregulation in mRNA was observed in CPS1 and ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC1) in simple steatosis and NASH-fibrosis patients versus controls. Further, age, obesity (BMI > 30 kg/m2), diabetes mellitus and ALT werefound to be risk factors whereas A-allele from CPS1 was a protective factor from liver fibrosis. CPS1 hepatic expression was diminished in parallel with the increase of fibrosis, and its levels reverted up to normality after changing diet in CDA-HFD mice. In conclusion, liver fibrosis and steatosis were associated with a reduction in both gene and protein expression patterns of mitochondrial urea cycle enzymes. A-allele from a variant on CPS1 may protect from fibrosis development. CPS1 expression is restored in a preclinical model when the main trigger of the liver damage disappears

The Milky Way Bulge: Observed properties and a comparison to external galaxies

The Milky Way bulge offers a unique opportunity to investigate in detail the role that different processes such as dynamical instabilities, hierarchical merging, and dissipational collapse may have played in the history of the Galaxy formation and evolution based on its resolved stellar population properties. Large observation programmes and surveys of the bulge are providing for the first time a look into the global view of the Milky Way bulge that can be compared with the bulges of other galaxies, and be used as a template for detailed comparison with models. The Milky Way has been shown to have a box/peanut (B/P) bulge and recent evidence seems to suggest the presence of an additional spheroidal component. In this review we summarise the global chemical abundances, kinematics and structural properties that allow us to disentangle these multiple components and provide constraints to understand their origin. The investigation of both detailed and global properties of the bulge now provide us with the opportunity to characterise the bulge as observed in models, and to place the mixed component bulge scenario in the general context of external galaxies. When writing this review, we considered the perspectives of researchers working with the Milky Way and researchers working with external galaxies. It is an attempt to approach both communities for a fruitful exchange of ideas.Comment: Review article to appear in "Galactic Bulges", Editors: Laurikainen E., Peletier R., Gadotti D., Springer Publishing. 36 pages, 10 figure

Decision support system for selecting the rootstock, irrigation regime and nitrogen fertilization in winemaking vineyards: WANUGRAPE4.0

We aim to develop and transfer to the wine sector a decision support system (DSS) in the frame of WANEGRAPE4.0 project that, integrated into a geographic information system, helps wine growers in i) selecting the most suitable rootstock given some agroecological conditions and oenological objectives; and ii) managing irrigation and nitrogen fertilization in the most suitable way for the selected rootstock and agroecological conditions. The following goals have been achieved. First, the modular structure and information flow of the DSS has been defined. Second, the main algorithms of the water balance module (DSS core part) have been formulated and the module coded in a spreadsheet. Third, this water balance module has been tested with data from field experiments in several regions of Spain. Fourth, the relationships between grapevine water status and production and harvest quality variables have been established, revealing an always-significant effects of the decrease in water stress on vegetative development, yield, and grape composition. Fifth, the nitrogen fertilizer effects on vine performance has been assessed. Sixth, the effects rootstocks have on 5 parameters of vine production and grape quality for winemaking have been established too by doing another meta-analysis of rootstock trials. Seventh, a rootstock selection module has been defined. The WANUGRAPE4.0 project goes on with the integration of all its modules, their coding in a World Wide Web language and their publication on an Internet portal

Epigenetic Regulation of Fatty Acid Amide Hydrolase in Alzheimer Disease

OBJECTIVE: Alzheimer disease (AD) is a progressive, degenerative and irreversible neurological disorder with few therapies available. In search for new potential targets, increasing evidence suggests a role for the endocannabinoid system (ECS) in the regulation of neurodegenerative processes. METHODS: We have studied the gene expression status and the epigenetic regulation of ECS components in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of subjects with late-onset AD (LOAD) and age-matched controls (CT). RESULTS: We found an increase in fatty acid amide hydrolase (faah) gene expression in LOAD subjects (2.30 ± 0.48) when compared to CT (1.00 ± 0.14; *p<0.05) and no changes in the mRNA levels of any other gene of ECS elements. Consistently, we also observed in LOAD subjects an increase in FAAH protein levels (CT: 0.75 ± 0.04; LOAD: 1.11 ± 0.15; *p<0.05) and activity (pmol/min per mg protein CT: 103.80 ± 8.73; LOAD: 125.10 ± 4.00; *p<0.05), as well as a reduction in DNA methylation at faah gene promoter (CT: 55.90 ± 4.60%; LOAD: 41.20 ± 4.90%; *p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Present findings suggest the involvement of FAAH in the pathogenesis of AD, highlighting the importance of epigenetic mechanisms in enzyme regulation; they also point to FAAH as a new potential biomarker for AD in easily accessible peripheral cells